Fixture

After a good training session earlier in the week the boys turned up in good spirits and ready for another physical battle. Manflu had struck down Joe B and Freddie whilst Angus and Jake were otherwise occupied, however we welcomed Spencer back from a mid-season sabbatical (warm weather training in Lanzarote apparently).

Playing up the hill in the 1^st half the early exchanges were relatively equal, with several big hits being from each side as the boys tested each other’s mettle. However, good vision from the opposition scrum-half to kick and chase from the halfway line to score almost unopposed, broke the deadlock – 0-7 and not the start we wanted. The restart was taken cleanly by the visitors and far too many yards were being made. The 10 / 12 combination of Thomas Franklin and Joe Truckel were doing a tremendous amount of tackling to halt Ross on Wye attacks. The game remained high intensity with big hits being made by Spencer and Rhys  but no-one was dominating. The Ross defence was spreading quickly giving no space for our backline to operate. The focus was changed to keep it tight with Callum, Jayden and Jake Summers making good early yards. The set piece was working with Lewis and Dan working well and allow a good platform for attack. The pick and drive game built momentum and working the blindside, Will Ruck crashed over the line in the corner, 5-7. After prowling the touchline like a caged tiger, Harry Taylor was introduced to the game and had an immediate impact.

The change in gameplan also added some stability to the game with Edwin marshalling the forwards well. Morgan was taking everything thrown at him and returning it with interest and Keegan kicked well to escape our half with Hugh chasing well to pin the counter attack down. Further pressure saw the hard working Tom Wacey score in the corner, 10-7. At half-time the boys knew they needed to be more structured and also more disciplined as there was a little too much ambition to offload. However, we also had the slope and we discussed dominating territory.

Yet again, we did not choose to use the slope and looked to run the ball on several occasions from our own half. Ross were a strong, quick side and made us pay, scoring first and retaking the lead – 10-12. The visitor’s tails were up and they took the game straight back to Chepstow and the collisions kept coming. The battle of the 2 No.8s was fascinating as Harry Taylor had to deal with a strong runner coming at him constantly, as you would expect he didn’t give an inch!

Chepstow weather the rest of the storm without conceding and then some good territorial play by Edwin and Joe  created good field position, some good pick and drives from Callum & Jake sucked in the defence to the right. Edwin spotted the space and released Joe and Thomas cut a great straight angle to score.= with Joe converting – 17-12.

The physicality started to show on the opposition as a number went off injured with Chepstow offering players to keep the numbers at 15 a side – well done Will Morgan, Jayden Davies and Hugh Kocheta. The U15s assisted, well done Morgan & Lloyd Voaden, Josh and Nathan for stepping up. The tempo remained high and the home team put the result beyond doubt with a well earned score from Spencer, excellently converted from the touchline by Keegan to guarantee the win.

Things to be pleased about

• Good physicality
• Set piece went well
• Good mix of skills to played a mixed gameplan

Things to improve

• Need to improve decision making to focus on territory
• Backline doing too much tackling
• Defending too narrowly at times

On we go…….